Marian Library/International Marian Research Institute Features

Updates

Dr. Annamaria Poma-Swank, who taught many courses on Mary and Art at IMRI, recently published a book about the sinful woman mentioned in Luke 7 called Maria detta "la maddalena" la donna senza nome [Mary called "the Magdalene"--the Unnamed Woman]. This new book is available in Italian from Edizioni Polistampa. Click here for details (in Italian). She will attend a presentation on that book at the Holy Cross Basilica in Florence at 5 pm on February 19, 2016. Father Antonio Marcantonio will introduce the speakers, Dr. Cristina Acidini and Dr. Antonia Ida Fontana. See below for the complete notice in Italian.

Mary in Media: Books, Films, Music, etc.

Volume XV of Bibliografia Mariana, a comprehensive listing in Italian of academic publications related to the Virgin Mary for 2012-13, is now available from Edizioni Marianum.The Marian Library recently ordered a copy for our holdings. Copies of Volumes 4-14 are also still available for purchase. For details contact the Marianum by email at marianum@marianum.it.

Also, Paula-Maria Niculescu informed us about her translation of Knock National Irish Mary Garden, an English-langauge article on our website, into Estonian. Click here to view her translation. We appreciate her efforts in providing this service the public.

From the Marian Treasure Chest

Brother John M. Samaha, S.M., sent us the following information by email.

This is the outlook on life of Blessed William Joseph Chaminade, Founder of the Marianist Family: "I am like a brook that makes no effort to overcome obstacles in its way. All the obstacles can do is hold me up for a while as a brook is held up. But during that time the stream grows broader and deeper, and after a while it overflows the obstruction and flows along again. That is how I am going to work."

Brother John also sent us the link to a 4-minute music video on YouTube with the following comments: "From St. Louis School, Honolulu, where the Marianists have taught a large and distinguished group of alumni for more than a century." Click here to view the Men of Saint Louismusic video.

Marian Events

For your spiritual growth we inform you that Canterbury Pilgrimages and Tours organizes an Extraordinary Jubilee year of Mercy Pilgrimage to Rome and Fatima in August: a unique occasion of spiritual renewal and an opportunity to deepen and strengthen your Marian devotion and spirituality. For more information call: 800-653-0017 or visit: www.canterburypilgrimages.com.

Mary in the Catholic Press

Pope's Address to Those Who Aid, Welcome Pilgrimsfrom Zenit (Rome) January 21, 2016

Today, Pope Francis received in audience participants in the International Meeting of pilgrimage organizers and rectors of shrines, celebrating their Jubilee in Rome from January 19-21.

Here is a ZENIT translation of the Holy Father's address:

* * *

Dear Brothers and Sisters, good morning!

I welcome you all cordially, operators of pilgrimages to shrines. To go on pilgrimage to shrines is one of the most eloquent expressions of the faith of the People of God, and it manifests the piety of generations of persons, who believed with simplicity and entrusted themselves to the intercession of the Virgin Mary and of the Saints. This popular religiosity is a genuine form of evangelization, which must always be promoted and appreciated, without minimizing its importance. It is curious: in Evangelii Nuntiandi, Blessed Paul VI speaks of popular religiosity, but he says that it is better to call it "popular piety." And then, in the Document of Aparecida, the Latin American Episcopate takes a further step and speaks of "popular spirituality." All three concepts are valid, but together. In the shrines, in fact, our people live their profound spirituality, that piety that for centuries has shaped their faith with simple but very significant devotions. We think of how, in some of these places, the prayer to Christ Crucified is understood, or that of the Rosary, or the Via Crucis....

Click here to read the complete article. This article includes a lovely photo of Our Lady of Quebec's Holy Door that naturally features Mary.

Mary in the Secular Press

The director and editors of All About Mary under the auspices of the International Marian Research Institute do not necessarily endorse or agree with the events and ideas expressed in this feature. Our sole purpose is to report on items about Mary gleaned from a myriad of papers representing the secular press.

Is This the Oldest Image of the Virgin Mary? (The New York Times) January 30, 2016

The Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus, is the most revered woman in the Christian tradition. In the history of art, she appears almost as frequently as Jesus himself. But for the past eighty years, one of the oldest paintings of her may have been hiding in plain sight.

At the Yale University Art Gallery hang wall paintings from one of the world's oldest churches. Buried by the middle of the third century, this house-church from eastern Syria had images of Jesus, Peter, and David. The gallery showcases a well-preserved procession of veiled women that once surrounded its baptistery, a room for Christian initiation....